For longtime attendees of the global event known as San Diego Comic-Con, the COVID-19 pandemic has been hell on Earth. Not only was the annual convention canceled two years in a row, but most comic book conventions around the country went with it. But now, with things seemingly quieting down, SDCC put on a “Special Edition” of the convention held in the San Diego Convention Center from November 26 to 28. Designed to test the waters and see if the real deal can return in 2022 and purposely limited in terms of scope and scale, this event was a strange, but welcome return to con-going with ups, downs, and an ever so slight reminder that normalcy is in sight.
The immediate thing regular SDCC attendees noticed about this event was how empty the halls of the Convention Center were. Booths on the famed exhibit hall were spaced out to allow social distancing, which was nice in terms of giving the crowd of 50,000 people room to breathe as opposed to having to cram into the large space and being yelled at by Warner Bros. employees to keep moving. It was still surreal to see so much room in the hallowed halls, especially in the once busy Sails Pavilion, which had very few people aside from the autograph area.
That’s not to say that the convention was deserted; far from it. Two of the three panels I attended were sold out, even though the biggest rooms, Ballroom 20 and Hall H, were hardly used except for the annual Masquerade. One panel, focusing on the stunt team for the hit film, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” had a line of over 300 people waiting outside, only a fraction of which actually made it inside. And of course, the line for Funko Pop exclusives was never-ending, with hoards of fans trying desperately to get their hands on the coveted things.
There was also a mask mandate for all congoers, regardless of vaccination status. Upon badge pickup, attendees had to provide either their vaccine card or a negative COVID test taken within three days. Vaccinated guests were given red wristbands to verify their status, reminding me of the film “Contagion,” while green bands signaled that they had tested negative. During the entire weekend, I saw no green wristbands, only red ones, perhaps a good sign that things are trending upwards.
Obviously, major film studios such as WB, Netflix, and Marvel sat out the convention, leaving almost nothing for major mind-blowing events at the con. Even major comic book retailers sat out this event, leaving limited options for diehard collectors, and Artists Alley lost several mainstays of the annual event. Most, if not all, of the panels presented were very small-scale fan panels — An “X-Men” fan panel featured prerecorded messages from X-Legends such as Emma Dumont from “The Gifted” and Fabian Nicieza, co-creator of Deadpool.
But the remarkable thing about the event was that despite a lack of major celebrity presence, few people cared. The energy in the Convention Center was electric at all times, similar to a full-scale con, and the camaraderie among guests was unmatched. Everyone was clearly glad to be back and enjoying themselves throughout, including yours truly. There was still a lot to see, lots to do, and fun to be had, even with COVID restrictions and social distancing in place, which was rather hopeful and elating in terms of feeling like normal is within reach.